Giants Release Dan Uggla, Outright Tyler Colvin

AUG. 4: Uggla has declined to go to Triple-A, Pavlovic tweets, and it is “hard to see him back with [the] Giants at any point.” As for Colvin, Giants assistant GM Bobby Evans told Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link) that the outfielder has been informed that the Giants would like to keep him at Triple-A if he clears waivers. Colvin has the option of becoming a free agent.

AUG. 1: The Giants have designated Uggla and Colvin for assignment, tweets Alex Pavlovic of the Mercury News.

JULY 30, 9:21pm: The Giants have actually optioned Colvin to Triple-A, and have yet to formally make a move regarding Uggla, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. The club has not confirmed that Uggla has or will be released, tweets Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com.

8:46pm: The Giants have released second baseman Dan Uggla and outfielder Tyler Colvin, reports MLB.com’s Chris Haft. San Francisco is expected to undertake several roster moves, possibly including new additions as well as the activation of several regulars from the DL.

While the club has been rumored to be pursuing several possible options at second base, nothing has reportedly come to fruition at this point. The Giants need roster space regardless, as Angel Pagan, Brandon Belt, and Hector Sanchez are all expected to be activated in relatively short order.

Uggla struggled mightily in his short time in San Francisco, failing to register a hit in 12 plate appearances while striking out six times (to go with three errors in the field). Of course, that is a continuation of his difficult time this year and last in Atlanta. Since the start of 2013, the 34-year-old has slashed .171/.291/.326 over 694 plate appearances, racking up 217 strikeouts along the way.

Colvin, meanwhile, owns a meager .225/.270/.384 line in 148 plate appearances on the season. He joined the Giants on a minor league deal after spending the prior two seasons with the Rockies. Once a well-regarded prospect, the 28-year-old had a strong 2012 campaign but has not produced at the MLB level since.

Dan Uggla needs to accept a long-term AA assignment with a club like San Diego, Colorado, Houston, etc. A team that can afford to sit on him for a while and let him relearn how to hit. I still think Uggla has some stroke left in that bat if he would be allowed (and accept) a long term minor league assignment. I definitely think AA and not AAA is where he needs to go. He could find that swing again and dominate for a while, getting his confidence back. Maybe he is able to help a team in 2015.

I’m in no way an Uggla supporter. Even in his prime I thought he was one of the most overrated players in baseball. That being said, I think he should really try to become a Yankee. They are desperate for a second baseman (other than having a great defender to overcompensate for Jeter at SS, Drew, as of right now, isn’t an answer) and they have a short porch that could play right into his strengths

If Uggla wants to have any chance of playing in the majors again, he’d better take a minior league assignment. He did next to nothing for the Braves the last couple of years and did nothing for the Giants. What does he think he’s gonna get??? He better get ready to sit at home and enjoy the rest of the millions from the Braves.

Sounds like he’d rather sit at home and collect his remainder of this year + $13M next year, then bus around in AAA. I don’t blame him really, he’s proven useless at this point, and has made plenty of money. He obviously can’t officially retire or he forfeits next year’s salary.

yeah that’s right. Figgs got 8 million while Uggla is paid 13.2 million for this season and another 13.2 million for next year. And figgs isn’t a total loss as a very expensive defensive replacement/spot starter/platoon/pinch runner. Uggla is totally useless and shouldn’t even be at any level in the minors. He should be in indie ball.